The Starfish Pack Program, a joint project between the Abbotsford Food Bank and the Abbotsford Rotary Club, received its second international recognition over the past weekend.

During the annual Rotary 5050 District Conference, held in Tulalip, WA, the Starfish Pack program was presented with McLean Community Service Award, recognizing it as the most outstanding community service project in the Rotary 5050 District.  Rotary District 5050 covers 58 Rotary clubs located in both British Columbia and Washington State, in communities from Hope BC to Everett, WA.

Starfish Packs provides weekly backpacks containing six meals each weekend to over 260 elementary school students in 22 Abbotsford schools during the school year.  The Program also recently launched its first “Starfish Depot” which will provide food and other resources to school children and their families year round.  In its first two years of operation, the program has brought together over 40 local businesses, service clubs, faith groups and hundreds of individuals to fund and deliver the program.